Grilled Chicken with Board Sauce

I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit recently and thought it would be a fantastic recipe to make for a cookout on Labor Day weekend. I wanted to try it out ahead of time and then tweaked it a bit to see if it would pass the taste bud test and I am happy to report it did, with flying colors.

What is a board sauce you ask?

A board sauce is exactly what it sounds like. Brought to brilliance by Adam Perry Lang, author of cookbooks like Charred and Scruffed, BBQ 25 and Serious Barbecue, the concept is that you prepare meat, and while it’s cooking, you mix together a savory sauce or herbs and oil. You baste your meat with some of it then pour the remaining sauce onto your board, let the meat rest for a bit so that the juices mix in with the board sauce, and then you spoon the sauce over the meat and it becomes something of a 8th wonder of the world in flavor.

Here is how we made it.

Salt and pepper some bone-in chicken pieces. You could definitely do this with boneless skinless chicken, but I urge you to try the bone-in with skin the first time. It’s truly amazing.

We had scads of whole chicken legs taking up room in our freezer as we’d purchased them on a wonderful sale recently so we used these but you could also use a whole chicken (spatch-cocked) or even the traditional 8-piece cut up chicken you can get at the market.

We simply salt and peppered them and tossed them on the grill.

Brush the grill rack with oil by lightly oiling a piece of paper towel and holding it with tongs, swipe in across your grill racks to oil. Start out with the skin-side down and cook them for 10-15 minutes per side or until you stick a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh and it registers at least 160-165º.

While those were cooking I made the board sauce.

Chop up ¾ cup of fresh cilantro along with ¼ cup of fresh oregano. I always go ahead and chop up cilantro stems as they are very flavorful, but the oregano stems can be a little tough so I pull the leaves backward off of the stems before chopping. Dump the fresh herbs into a mixing bowl and add in ¼-1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. Add in one-fourth cup of olive oil, the zest of one lime and a pinch of salt and pepper along with one chopped garlic clove. Mix this all up well.

When the chicken has about five minutes left to grill, brush it with a little of the dressing, Then pour the remainder onto your cutting board.

Take the cutting board right out to the grill and place the chicken pieces on top of it.
Allow the meat to rest for 5-10 minutes (loosely tent foil over it to keep it hot). At this point, the juices will have come out of the chicken and mixed with the sauce…spoon it over the chicken pieces and serve with lime wedges!

If using whole chile, toast in a dry skillet, turning often, until slightly puffed and darkened, about 4 minutes. (Do not toast red pepper flakes.) Discard stem and seeds. Finely chop chile and transfer to a small bowl. Stir in cilantro, oregano, lime zest, and ¼ cup oil; season dressing with salt and pepper.

· Prepare grill for medium indirect heat (for a charcoal grill, bank coals on 1 side of grill; for a gas grill, leave 1 burner turned off). Brush grill rack with oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper and place, skin side down, on grill. Grill chicken, turning occasionally, until skin is crisp and browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh registers 165°, 10–15 minutes per side (move chicken to cooler part of grill if it's cooking too quickly). About 5 minutes before chicken is done, baste with some of dressing.

· Pour remaining dressing onto a carving board (or platter, if you don't have a large board) and place chicken, skin side up, on top. Let sit at least 10 minutes to rest and absorb flavor from dressing before carving. Drizzle chicken with some dressing from board and serve with limes.

· DO AHEAD: Dressing can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.

3.2.2708

Just LOOK at what other bloggers made for Labor Day inspiration for Food Network’s Summer Soirée!!

About Katie

Katie's love of cooking and eating good food has led her down a path of fun filled friend and family gatherings around the kitchen. She is an Oklahoma Food blogger, TV food personality for Freedom43tv, author of Food Lovers's Guide to Oklahoma and lover of all all the good things of life!

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